In Another Life
by OrionNott
Summary: From prompt: A character wakes up in an alternate life. After a strange encounter, Karen wakes up as the fiancé of an old friend. Meanwhile Frank is trying to find a way to save Karen.


Karen was tired of late nights. All the stress was done with and now she reported on petty crime. The Punisher was in the wind as she had not heard a word from Frank Castle in months. Calling it a night was her best option now, as she needed sleep, and Ellison was sure to agree with that. Grabbing her things and shutting down the computer, she slung her bag over her shoulder and turned off the lights.

She waved goodbye to Ellison on her way out of the building. Outside, the sky was black with no hint of the stars. A shame. She walked down the street, fiddling with her keys to make just a little bit of noise in the quiet. As she approached the car and went to put the key in, a hand grabbed her shoulder. She hadn't thought to keep her gun close- hadn't thought to need it.

"Karen Page?"

She turned to see a figure of a man, his face shadowed and hard to see in the dark. "Who's asking?"

Before she could even blink, the man had shoved her again the car and placed his hands on the sides of her head. It was like sparks shot through her skull and she gasped, unable to catch her breath. The lights from the street lamps were growing dimmer by the second and she slid down to the ground, her legs giving out. It felt as if her entire body was shutting down and eventually she did.

Frank didn't like to admit that he was worried about her. He didn't like to admit that her presence got to him and if anyone hurt her, he'd be devastated. Yet here he was, sitting up on the roof top above where she is parked. He was just going to make sure she was safe and leave when she got in her car, he'd told himself several time.

He took another drink of his coffee, eyes scanning every part of the street. He wasn't sure when she would be going home, but if he could stop at least one potential threat, he'd feel better. His thoughts stopped when he saw her walk out the door, pulling her blonde hair around her shoulder and glancing up at the sky.

The sound of keys jingling reached his ears and he watched as she made her way across the street and stopped at her car. At least she had gotten that fixed up after their last encounter. A man approached her, grabbing her shoulder and Frank started forward. He was all but ready to jumped off the roof and even more so when the man shoved her against the car.

Frank took off down the fire escape as fast as he could, reaching for his weapon. He was too late as the man was already gone, so he took his hand away and raced over to the car. Karen was slumped to the ground, with her hair covering her face and her chest heaving before it slowed and her breathe was soft.

"Ma'am?!" He was on his knees in an instant, pulling her up and pushing her hair away. She was out, but still breathing to his relief. He examined her quickly and was distraught to find no injuries or bumps on her head. Hauling her up in his arms, he opened the door and laid her in the back and got in the driver seat.

Karen woke with a throbbing headache and her mouth drier than a desert. Sitting up slowly, her apartment felt strange and then she noticed that it was indeed, strange. There were thing in her apartment. Belongings, pictures and color, things she never remembered having. She climbed out of bed and pulled on a pair of jeans that were lying on the floor.

The front door opened and she looked around for her gun, only to find she didn't have it. She never imagined seeing Frank Castle walking through her door with zero signs of bruises or cuts and with a smile pulling his lips, but here he was. "Karen, are you awake?"

He has never called her by her first name. Her chest was heaving and she felt like throwing up all of a sudden, but she fought against it and called out to him softly. "Frank?"

"What's wrong?" His eyes found her and he walked over with a look of concern. "You look like you've seen a ghost. Are you feeling alright?"

Karen had to sit back down on the bed as she looked at him. Her eyes glanced around for any clue as to where she was, but they all told her that this was her home. There were pictures of her, Matt and Foggy, and some of her and Frank. Men's clothes were scattered around and the room even smelled like him. Suddenly she even noticed the dog that was staring her down from across the room.

"What-" She couldn't form her words properly, so she decided to be careful in what she said. "What is today?"

Frank frowned, his brows twitching but he answered her nonetheless. "Tuesday, August 3rd."

Well, at least the date was right, but nothing about this was. She nodded and swallowed against the dryness. All she was able to remember was the night before at the Bulletin, the man who grabbed her by her car. She thought maybe she had heard Frank, but it could have been her imagination.

He startled her when he walked over and cupped her face, kissing her lips. "I'm worried about you." He spoke softly against her skin.

"What are you doing?"

Frank gently ran his fingers through her hair, the corner of his lips twitching. "Kissing my fiancé. Is that a crime?"

Karen shook her head but all she was feeling was anxiety. This wasn't the Frank she knew. This was someone completely different and perhaps she was in a dream, but she didn't want to get comfortable in something she wasn't comfortable with. She couldn't deny she felt something, but it wasn't mutual. They didn't have this kind of relationship and she hadn't seen him for almost a year.

"Are you coming down with somethin'? You fell asleep at work and I got called to come pick you up. Said they couldn't get you to wake up and were going to call for an ambulance."

"I'm fine." She put on a smile and stood, slipping away from him. "Just, excuse me for a moment." Hurrying into the bathroom and locking that door, she glanced in the mirror and winced as pain shot through her head. She needed to do some digging.

Frank had taken her back to her apartment, setting her on her bed before figuring out what to do next. He couldn't just take her to the hospital, everyone thought him dead, and he just didn't feel right leaving her. Karen hadn't responded to anything he tried and it was easy to mistake her as a corpse if you didn't get close enough. He wasn't sure what that man had done to her, but he was sure to kill him if he saw him again.

From putting a damp cloth on her forehead to checking her pulse, he had nowhere else to turn to then one of her close friends. Calling Foggy Nelson was easy, but convincing him to bring over his doctor friend took a little more convincing. An hour later, Foggy came bursting through the door with a woman behind him.

"What happened to her? Is she alright?" Foggy practically cried as he made his way to the bed, his brows furrowing. "Is she even alive?" He took her hand and sighed in relief as her skin seemed to answer his question. "Claire, can you help her?"

Claire gave Frank a look of suspicion but just shook her head and moved towards Karen. She checked her pulse, which he's done multiple times, and shined a light in her eyes. "Jesus Christ, what happened to her."

"I don't know. That's what I'm trying to figure out." Frank glared at the two of them, his voice low and rough. He didn't have time for questions, he just needed her to wake up.

The woman continued to examine Karen as she lay unconscious. Foggy stayed at their side, gripping tightly to her hand and speaking softly with the doctor. Castle was left to pace back and forth, leaving for an hour out on the fire escape. He wished for that man to be outside, so he could pound his face into mush on the sidewalk. When he walked back in, the doctor was packing up her things.

"Where are you going?" Frank growled, seeing as Karen still wasn't awake.

Claire sighed and crossed her arms, glaring at him. "I need to make a run. She needs an IV drip, since you won't take her to the hospital. Right now, I'd have to say she's in a coma, so she needs help getting nutrients into her system or her body will shut down and die. Are you going to let me do that?"

"Frank."

The voice was so soft, so breathless that it made each one of them jump. Frank moved towards the bed in hopes to see her blue eyes staring up at him. She hadn't moved an inch. Her chest was rising more and she sounded as if she struggled to breathe. Claire and Foggy rushed out of the apartment, telling him that they would bring back whatever they needed as soon as possible.

Frank sat down beside her and pet her head softly, his words even softer. "Ma'am,"

Karen had spent the day roaming around and finding clues about everything and anything. Newspapers from yesterday were completely different from when she remembered and buildings were changed. Nelson and Murdock was just an empty complex and the Bulletin was bigger, fancier.

When she got home, Frank was in the kitchen, drinking coffee. At least that was normal. She couldn't help but smile about that which caused him to chuckled. "A good day today?"

"Not really," She hesitated, eyeing him. "Productive, but I don't think I feel any better." Taking her shoes off felt good. Sitting on the couch felt better.

Frank laughed as he made his way over, sitting down next to her and kissing her. His fingers weren't rough and calloused, but smooth and gentle against her jaw. Her breath hitched and she fell back trying to get away, only resulting in him on top of her. His lips were soft and she tried kissing him back but stopped herself.

"What are you doing?" She panted, pushing her hands against his chest.

He paused and sent her a questioning look. "Why do you ask that every time I kiss you?"

She couldn't form the words and he leaned down and kissed her again, to which she let him. His fingers were in her hair and his other hand gripping her hip and gliding down her thigh. Things were moving so fast and she didn't have time to process it, but if this was a dream, why not just be in the moment?

"Frank," Karen breathed out as his mouth moved to her neck. Suddenly, a piercing pain shot through her skull and she screamed, pushing him away. He sat up, eyes wide as she rolled off the couch and onto the floor in a panic. It was a struggle just to push herself up when her lungs felt like they were shrinking in her chest.

She stumbled to the bathroom, ignoring Frank calling out to her. Something was seriously wrong and the excruciating pain in her head was enough for her to see spots. "Ma'am!" That word caused her to spin around quicker than she could in her state. It was Frank, _her_ Frank. Her quick movements caused her to lose her footing inside the bathroom and she was falling. Her head slammed into the edge of the sink.

Sunlight was coming in through the curtains and the only sound in the room was breathing. Her lungs were on fire and her head hurt, but not as bad as the last time. She noticed the IV in her hand and she ripped it out, scrunching her nose at the feeling. Sitting up slowly, a man dressed in black was sitting in her chair beside the bed. It seemed to take him a moment to process before he lurched forward and placed his hands on the sides of her head.

"Ma'am, you're awake."

So many emotions filled her heart and tears threatened to escape at the sight of him- at his words. "Frank," She tried to speak, her throat dry and scratchy. "It's really you." Karen didn't have time to think or the energy to be aware of her actions and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Frank didn't move for a second, but finally his arms wrapped around her in a tight embrace. He whispered quietly against her head until she calmed down. She told her everything that happened, from when that man touched her to this very moment. He was silent and listened to her and it was all she could have wanted.


End file.
